Home, Home, Home!

We are home! We finally got approval late Tuesday afternoon, and we made the 12 hour trip on Wednesday. We pulled into our driveway about 7PM, and found all kinds of baby girl decorations all over the house- thanks Summervilles! It was a great welcome home.

Avery was really good during the journey, but its obvious that she is as glad as her parents to be home. We spent most of today catching up around the house, unpacking, settling Avery in, etc. We had a bunch of friends visit throughout the day, and they all loved Avery up, and agreed that she is truly the most perfect baby in the history of humanity. Now we can start raising our Southern Belle in earnest.

We promise to get a lot of pictures online soon, but that will have to wait until tomorrow, I think. Thanks for all your well wishes and thoughts.

Guess What? Still Here In St. Louis!

As day 11 draws to a close, and still no word from our home state of North Carolina as to whether they have approved our adoption, we look forward to another night here in St. Louis. Someday we may be allowed to return to our home, but for now, we stay.

We went to the zoo today, which is very incredible, and free. Kudos to St. Louis! Otherwise, we don't have a single thing to talk about, because things are really boring. Hopefully we will have some pictures to post later if we can break out of our ennui and go to the hotel's business center.

Take care. Think of us- let's hope tomorrow we can journey on home.

All the News...

I know, I know, we are lazy bloggers! So here is your news fix, as well as new photos.

Our Legal Status:
Still in St. Louis. Looks like we will remain here through the weekend now, as we haven't heard yet from NC if the adoption is approved by them. Hopefully, that will happen Monday, and we can come home then.

Avery's Status:
She is growing like crazy! Sleeping less, filling out, eating like a horse. She is still perfect, and the cutest baby ever seen. :) She likes to cuddle, and seems to like us a lot.

Parents' Status:
Can we be whiny? We are bored, tired and wanting to be home in a big way. Renee actually wants to be doing laundry with her own washer and dryer, and Shawn actually wants to mow the yard. Anything to get out of this hotel! You can only sightsee so much....

Photo Explanations:
The one outside of the Family Court is from Tuesday, when Missouri approved the adoption.

The weird artwork ones are from a sculpture park we visited.

The cute baby photos are of Avery, the cutest baby ever.

The one of Renee and Avery next to the big stainless steel wall is our second visit to the most famous landmark in her birth city, just to prove she was there.

The one of her praying just shows that Avery has her priorities straight. :) She did that on her own, with no parental prompting.

Hope everyone is well, and be rooting for us to come home soon!

Remaining in St. Louis....

Still In St. Louis

Days 3 and 4 Continued!

Avery Days 3 and 4- Pictures!

Sleepless in St. Louis!

Sorry we haven't been updating as often as we should- :) But here is the latest: We discovered that Avery has her days and nights completely reversed! Saturday night was pretty bad- we finally got to hear her cry. Last night was much better, she only got up three times. Hopefully tonight will go just as smooth. We don't mind though, she is well worth the loss of a little shut-eye.

Today, Monday, we went out for some adventures. We went to the St. Louis Museum of History, and walked around Forest Park. The park is beautiful, full of fountains, paths, lakes and all sorts of beautiful places. Forest Park is the site of the 1904 World's Fair, for all of you collectors of mundane historical trivia. We then went and walked around a mall, and did some baby shopping. All of our newborn clothing is too big, so we were looking for some preemie clothing. Avery needs to look pretty and sweet for her court appearance this week. Plus, it was just good to get out of the hotel and see some sights.

We will add some pictures later tonight if we can get onto one of the hotel computers. We appreciate everyone's warm thoughts, well wishes and kind comments!

And Some More!

Avery- Days 1 and 2

Here are some new pics! We are out of the hospital and hanging out in our hotel. We will have to stay for probably another week.

Some pics of Avery

Fresh baby

Here I am!

The St. Louis sky after she was born

AVERY REAGAN KEIM ARRIVES!!!

Avery arrived in this world on July 16th, 2009 at 6:42 PM. She weighed in at 6lbs. 13 oz. and was 19.5 inches long...by our standards...PERFECT!

Our birth mother called and told us they were going to induce her Friday night at 8:00PM. I called Shawn at work and he came home, we packed hastily and began our road trip to St. Louis, Missouri. We were only an hour outside of Charlotte when her dad called and told us they were back in the hospital. He continued to call and give us regular updates, but Avery was not waiting for us! He called to tell us she had been born when we were about halfway there...driving through Nashville, TN. It was the longest 11 hour trip ever!

We made it to the hospital by midnight and got to see Avery through the nursery glass. A nurse unwrapped her so we could see all her perfect features. We went down and visited with our birth mother and her parents for about an hour. By that time they had straightened out the "bracelet" situation and we were able to get Avery from the nursery. It was overwhelming love at first sight. We were amazed at just how tiny she is...and did I mention, Perfect! We didn't get a room with her but more of a conference room with a rocking chair. We changed our first nasty diaper...a joint effort. We left the hospital at 3AM and went to our hotel...set the alarm for 7AM and headed back to the hospital.

This morning we got to take her down to the conference room again and rocked, fed, and changed her. So far, she is super good...no crying yet. We met with our lawyer this afternoon and are going to rest at the hotel for a little bit and head back tonight.

Our birth mother's father took some pictures of her first moments on earth so I will post these.

Pictures from St. Louis

Clydesdales at the Budweiser Brewery...it was a really interesting free tour.

Scary to see how thin the top is when you are standing on the ground!

View from the top.

We walked part of the way across the Mississippi on this old bridge that was part of Route 66.

Stopped in Nashville on the way home...snuck into the Opryland Hotel and walked around...I came here with Dad for a Coachmen seminar when I was about 13.

Meet Me in St. Louis!

Yesterday, June 9, 2009, we met Baby Keim's Birth Mother! Shawn and I were SUPER nervous as we waited in front of our hotel. As soon as our birth mom and her parents pulled in the parking lot we rushed to meet each other. We went into the hotel to talk for a few minutes before heading out to her doctor's appointment. Our birth mom rode with us and talked the whole way! Even though we'd just met we felt so comfortable and like we'd known her forever. At her doctor's appointment we got to go back and meet our baby via ultrasound. She looked pretty squished in there! It was unbelievably cool to see her ribs, how long her thigh bone was, and how big her head is. Our birth mom is 1 cm dilated and at her appointment next week her Dr. will discuss a date to induce her.

After the Dr. appointment we went to a coffee shop and met the social worker. She explained all the forms our birth mom will have to sign and what we can expect in the hospital.

In the evening we went to dinner at our birth mom's parent's. Our birth mom gave us a special outfit for the baby and assured us again of her plans for the hospital and after the birth. Our birth mom's parents showed us home videos so we could see what she looked like as a little girl.

We had a great day and the whole experience was surreal! Before we had been matched with our birth mom we had never imagined the journey would be this great. She's a very courageous young lady and we can hardy express our gratitude to her for making our dream of a family become a reality.

Today, Friday June 10th, we were tourists. We walked on a bridge over the Mississippi River, saw where the Missouri River runs into the Mississippi, rode to the top of the Arch, and toured the Budweiser Brewery. Tomorrow we will do the hospital tour with our birthmom!